Saturday, February 25, 2012

"My work is a form of evolved contemplation. If you live in nature for a time, you have almost mystical experiences. You get into a state of lyrical excitement and become part of the things that are happening around you: the grass quivering, the birds singing. On a sunny day there is an extraordinary feeling of energy, as light dazzles, bees buzz, birds dart, lizards slither. Nature moves through your veins in a spiritual way, and then the work of art flows out like birdsong" - John Wolseley

The Wolseley quote echoes the way I feel about making art. Since it is nearly AutumnI'm preparing to move outdoors to carve again.It is my time to connect with natureand produce my best carvings. I'm feeling the flutterings of anticipation!

The artists I've featured in this post share a similar bond or affinity with nature. Lori Goodman's amazing paper pod pieces caught my eye and when I found her website I also fell in love with her stacked paper installations. She makes her own kozo paper from Japanese mulberry bark to use in her work.

"For many years I have made paper and loved doing so. I enjoy the connection to its history, the knowing that for thousands of years something has been made so simply and yet has such an amazing impact on our world. Yet often I deny the medium, focusing only on the "art", the "message". As I began to make the paper for this exhibit, I became very aware of the process. The meditation and rhythm and the absolute beauty of the paper itself became of primary importance" - Lori Goodman

Saturday, February 18, 2012

For millions of people in Africa walking is the only source of transportation. Having a bicycle certainly make's life easier! There are many projects underway to collect surplus bicycles and send them to the areas where they are needed most. Check out the Village Bicycle Project on Face Book here.

Now to get back to the goats ...... Call me weird (and many people do), but I collect images of goats on bicycles in Africa. For some reason they really tickle me. Here in South Africa it's not unusual to see bicycles loaded with all manner of objects and livestock. I can remember as a child when the family went out for a Sunday drive my mom often pointed out bicycles laden to the hilt ... saying "Do you see how lucky you are kids? You could be driving into the country on my handlebars if we didn't have a car". Of course at that stage in our lives we rather liked the idea of riding out into the country on someones handlebars.

"On the border of Lesotho we found a few industrious guys like Tanki Mohapeloa selling their cross-boarder transport services to people who don't see the need to go through border control just to deliver goods to family and friends on the other side. Tanki and his colleagues can cross the border on their modified bicycles many times a day without problems - everyone there knows them well..." - Stan Engelbrecht